There are 4 things on my To-Do list today. One of them is to do a little research and decide if I want to continue as a Close To My Heart consultant or let it drop. You see, this happens every year, or it has the past two years, anyway. I want to be a CTMH consultant. I want to share the great products and services with my friends. And I want to make new friends. And keep in touch with my old friends. But then work happens. The holidays are crazy and in retail, they start early. I haven’t done anything in my craft room (other than dig out the Christmas decorations). I haven’t made a single Christmas card. I haven’t had time to even think about looking through the idea book. There are stamp sets and accessories that I want to order for myself, but I’ve been ordering Christmas for everyone else instead.

Well, Christmas Day is past. I get paid tomorrow. Do I place a nice big juicy order for myself? Or do I let it slide, slip into ‘Junior’ status and then make the real decision later? That’s where the research comes in. The first step is to find the new Idea Book online on the consultant site. That was easy enough. But for some reason my Chrome browser didn’t like it, so I had to open Internet Explorer. And then reset my password because I can never remember it. (Have it saved in Chrome.) And then the Spring/Summer Idea Book. Have I ever mentioned that I love Spring and Summer? Well, I really love Spring and Summer colors and patterns and prints and flowers and beaches and . . . . well, everything that goes along with it.

Long story short, one quick peek at the Idea Book and the decision is made. I’m in! Tomorrow is payday and I’ll be placing a special order just for me!

And now the good part for you: Guess how many of the 4 items on the To-Do list I accomplished today (You know by now that it is at least 1!) and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a free CTMH stamp set. *ETA* Post you guess by 11:59 PM on December 30, 2012.

I’m not sure which it will be yet. A while back I purged my stamp collection and I have nice big box of stamps to choose from. But post your answer in the comments section. Sharing this post, Tweeting and Facebooking it, won’t get you extra entries, but it is always greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I’m also putting together a New Consultant Gift Package for those joining my team. If you’re interested in joining, I’d love to hear from you.

Did you know Stamping has it’s own month? Do we really need another excuse to stamp? Or to meet with our friends for a Stamping Gathering? Or to make another card? Probably not. But it is nice. And even nicer is the great promotion from Close To My Heart!

The photo on this scrapbook page was taken at my friend Christina’s wedding. My husband set up the camera on a champagne glass and set the timer. I love the photo! I also love the designer paper, Avonlea. I expect I’ll be ordering more of this.

I wanted to show you this scrapbook page so I could show you the ‘aging’ technique that is my favorite. Through the years I have done a lot of things to paper. I’ve torn it, scratched it, sanded it, scraped it, swiped it. You name it, I’ve probably done it. But this technique is my current favorite. It really softens the edge of the paper or cardstock for a nice transition from mat to background. You don’t have to use brown for aging. You can use a coordinating or matching color for a fresher look.

Just take a piece of sponge. (One round sponge goes a long way! And they are easy to share.) Dab it on the ink pad of your choice. This is the CTMH Desert Sand.

Then, very lightly swipe downward on the edge of the paper, cardstock, or photo. I like to start at the corner of the paper so the ink and aging will be darker there and then work toward the center of the edge.

Here are some shots of the details of the completed scrapbook page. I used the Workshop On The Go kit and everything on the page was in the kit. And I have lots left over. And no, I did not follow the Workshop Guide that came in the kit. If you know you want to scrap and use this paper, but don’t know where to start, the Workshop On The Go is the way to go.

The ‘aging’ technique on the photo and cardstock mat.

Canvas ‘Stickease’ included in the kit.

Canvas letters, with adhesive on back, also included in the kit.

A photo of the page that better shows off the Velvet Rub-ons, also included in the kit. The rub-ons are a medium gray, but can be carefully colored a darker color with a marker if you would like.

Ok, after looking at these photos again, I really do like this kit! You know what’s going on my next order, right?